On streets like Mildenhall Road and Dawlish Avenue, yellow ribbons tied around the trunks of old trees serve as a stark reminder to residents that the park-like feel of Lawrence Park is currently at risk. In 2013, the City of Toronto began planning an overhaul of the area’s sewer system to mitigate storm water and basement flooding, forcing city staff to come up with a design to reconstruct 26 local streets.

Then half a dozen years ago the province came forward with a pile of money, and now the thing is building as anyone inching along Eglinton Avenue knows. It won’t be operational for another four or five years.

Industrial properties are being given new life in Leaside. Local residents will see this sort of renewal in action when Organic Garage opens its fourth location in an old warehouse on the corner of Laird Drive and Millwood Road this year.

Local resident Michelle Flax set up her Little Free Library (LFL), a rustic wooden box housing used books for free perusal, three years ago on her front lawn around York Mills Road and Leslie Street. Since then, she’s enjoyed being able to share great works of literature with her neighbours.

Traffic in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area has taken another hit: at least five construction staging proposals for the area were approved by the City of Toronto last month. Work on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT station is underway, while the construction plan for a 35-storey condo at 18-30 Erskine Ave. is under fire from parents of the adjacent John Fisher Public School.

Victoria University, a college of the University of Toronto, has recently come under fire for an old agreement with the City of Toronto that waives the property tax for several university-owned buildings on Bloor Street’s Mink Mile, currently leased by some of the ritziest retailers in Toronto.

Sandra Hawken is one of Toronto’s newest caped crusaders. From March 6 to 12, fundraisers for the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital will join Hawken by donning a red cloak to support Capes for Kids, a new fundraising initiative.

Member of provincial parliament Jagmeet Singh is ahead in the New Democratic Party federal leadership race and he hasn’t even declared his candidacy. Could the GQ-appearing, mixed martial arts–loving and progressive politician mount a serious challenge to Trudeau?

On Feb. 8, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted against selling Vaughan Road Academy, to the relief of local residents. The school will close later this year, and although the building’s future remains unclear, locals argue it should be used as a community centre.

A real estate market increase hit Richmond Hill particularly hard in 2016: the aggregate price of a home rose to $1,138,826, up 30.1 per cent in the area, and is projected to continue to increase in the coming year.

Although commentators continue to talk of the condo boom in Toronto, for example, things have changed even more around here and in less time, whether you’re looking at the new highrises along Yonge Street in Richmond Hill or the announcement of 50-storey condos in Vaughan.

Paola Gomez’s career has been a convergence of human rights law, social justice, creative writing and artistic expression. It has culminated in her recently receiving the Constance E. Hamilton Award, given to recognize those who have made a significant contribution to improving the social, economic and political status of women in Toronto.

For locals living in the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue area, the Rosehill Reservoir is first and foremost their park. So when the Summerhill Residents Association (SRA) heard the beloved green space would be torn apart for rehabilitation work, they wanted to ensure the community would have a say in its redesign.